Looking for a good HTPC video card

Hey guys. I'm in the process of building a new HTPC setup. I'd like some suggestions on a GPU.

I'm using an old case that I had laying around. I stripped it and powder-coated the interior. It does have a window. The only reason I bring this up, is the case is older, and only has two 80mm fan holes. So I'd like a video card that isn't going to fill the case with extra heat...if possible.

I'm looking for something to be able to handle 1080p playback without issue. It will be hooked up to our Samsung 46" LCD via HDMI. Looking to stay around the $100 range if possible. I want a video card that I can put into the machine, and not have to worry about it playing the HD content.

Thanks,
-RYknow

HD 5670 is your best bet.

If you're just looking for HD video, and not gaming, get a Geforce G210 or GT220. Anything higher end would be a waste.

I recommend Nvidia because it gives you two options for video acceleration: DXVA, which tends to work with fewer hassles than on ATi cards, and CoreAVC+CUDA, which ATi cards can't do at all.

How well do the 210/220 do on cheese slices though? In the G210's case, ****-poor. For any interlaced source material, it just fails. The GT220 deinterlaces a bit better, but still not as well as the 5670. It also can't bitstream DTSMA or TrueHD, if that matters. Another issue with the 220 is the HD 4670: it wins in everything and costs the same.

Mostly though, I suggest the 5670 because it's the slowest card that can still run all ATI's video enhancement stuff. I dunno if Nvidia has an answer to vector adaptive deinterlacing, but I do know it looks darn good.

I wrote something about these two passively cooled graphic cards to my blog, maybe they compete in your preferred price soon:
* Sparkle GeForce GTS 450 passively cooled version
* Gigabyte Radeon HD5770 Silent Cell
I don't know which to choose myself for my next HTPC build, but for you both should be nice options. Info and images are in my blog about Silent & Quiet HTPC at http://silenssimo.blogspot.com/2010/09/geforce-gts-450-passive-cooled-gpu-from.html